Shan Masood hints at spin-friendly pitches for PAK-SA Test series
What's the story
Pakistan's Test captain Shan Masood has hinted at a preference for spin-friendly pitches in the upcoming two-match series against South Africa. The first match of the World Test Championship (WTC) cycle will be played on October 12. This comes as a continuation of Pakistan's recent strategy of preparing spin-friendly wickets, although this approach backfired against the West Indies last year.
Strategy shift
Masood emphasizes importance of taking wickets
Masood stressed on the need to take 20 wickets in a match, saying they don't want to produce pitches that lead to draws. "Taking 20 wickets is more important for us. We don't want to produce the kind of pitches we've had in Pakistan's history where matches end in draws," he said. This statement underscores an aggressive approach aimed at securing victories rather than settling for draws.
Pressure mounts
Pressure mounts on Masood ahead of South Africa Tests
Since taking over the captaincy from Babar Azam in December 2023, Masood has led Pakistan to just three Test victories out of 12. All these wins have come on home soil. The team's poor performance in the last WTC cycle, where they finished at the bottom, has only added to Masood's pressure as he looks to turn things around against South Africa.
Information
Here is the Pakistan squad for the series
Pakistan squad: Shan Masood (c), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Asif Afridi, Babar Azam, Faisal Akram, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Rizwan, Noman Ali, Rohail Nazir, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi.